Ed Gillespie, our new White House Fodor’s correspondent:
On a personal level, this is an exciting way for someone to visit the Holy Land for the first time. Our delegation made a visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem today. It was incredibly moving to see the site believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, and thinking about the impact on thousands of years of humanity that was begun on this sacred spot.
We are staying in Jerusalem, home to sacred shrines of three of the world’s great religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Our schedule doesn’t allow time to take in the surrounding history, but I look forward to the day when I can return as a tourist with my family and can take the time to enjoy this beautiful area.
These White House bloggers are very serious…they blog in ties.
On a side note, on my one trip to Israel, I was actually kicked out of the Church of the Nativity for wearing shorts. Palestenian gunmen could stay, but not me.